Star Power
High School Band Students Meet Famous Rock Group
Dave Kerkvliet of Sebeka, Minn., has been a band teacher for 24 years, but he’s been a musician and rock music fan since he was a kid. Recently, he combined these two passions in a big way when he introduced his Sebeka High School students to one of his favorite rock groups.
“I’m a 311 fan,” says Kerkvliet, noting that the band has maintained its success for some 30 years. “I’ve been going to more shows and have connected with the band a bit.”
So when Kerkvliet heard 311 was playing at the Armory in Minneapolis, he had an idea. “I invited them to our band concert the night before,” he says. The rock band couldn’t make it, but they invited students to the show instead.
The rock group has partnerships with PLUS1, a nonprofit that helps artists fund good causes, and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, which donates musical instruments and music technology to schools, so it was an easy connection for them to want to partner with a local school.
Kerkvliet has 230 of the district’s 500 students in his band program, but he could bring only four students and their parents to the show. It was a tough decision, so Kerkvliet picked students who had an interest in rock music, who were part of his independent study classes on recording music, and who were learning multiple instruments.
“[The band] brought us backstage during the opening acts,” Kerkvliet says. “We talked for [nearly an hour], and only ended because they had to go on stage.”
The students met lead singer and guitarist Nick Hexum and drummer Chad Sexton. The students asked about how the group stays together, what touring is like, and how important school music programs were in their lives.
“[The] program was huge in getting them into music.” Kerkvliet recalls. “Without that, they said things would have ended up differently.”
Inspiring students with music
Kerkvliet made banners that showed the rock band and school logos. The students all signed one banner to give to 311, and 311 signed another one, which is now hanging in the school band room.
“I knew I would have a lot of students upset [that they couldn’t go to the show],” he says. “But we recorded the interview and played it back during the next class. Nick and Chad gave a video shout-out to the rest of the kids.”
“The school band feels really special to have had this exposure,” Kerkvliet said. “It’s all about motivating them with the art that you’re creating.”
“We have to have positive activities that kids enjoy and get them excited,” he adds.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students and for Kerkvliet. “I used it to tell the kids in a small school that you never know what’s possible until you ask,” he says.
-KIEREN STEINHOFF
This story first appeared in the Minnesota Educator, a publication of Education Minnesota.
Success Club Helps Kids Get Ahead
Ohio teacher helps students unlock their futures.
Five years ago, Ohio middle school teacher Spencer Geraghty asked his students to construct a timeline of special events in their lives, like the first holiday celebration they remember.
One student just sat there … to the point that Geraghty asked privately, “What’s going on?” The student answered: “I don’t remember this stuff. I don’t remember a first Christmas gift. I remember wondering if we were going to eat, or where we were going to sleep.”
“A lightbulb went on,” recalls Geraghty. “It’s not enough to preach to kids about college, about furthering their careers. We have to get hands on, and we have to do it now.”
From that inspiration, Geraghty volunteered to launch Success Club, an after-school group that began five years ago with only 10 students. Today, it has grown to more than 150 students in five schools across two districts. In weekly meetings, the club’s middle schoolers tackle the skills that lead to success: time management, goal-setting, commu- nication, and more. Meanwhile, they also travel monthly to career sites and college campuses.
“We never used to address a lot of these skills relating to career and college readiness until ninth or tenth grade. For many of our students, that’s way too late,” Geraghty says.
Recently, students visited public safety agencies to learn about careers in law enforcement and firefighting. The following week, uniformed officers discussed their contributions to the community and answered students’ questions about the skills and education required to do their jobs.
Early bird gets the worm
Geraghty knows firsthand the benefits of an early start. In 2012, he graduated from high school after earning an associate’s degree through Canton’s Early College High School. When he finished college two years later, he returned home to teach.
Geraghty also knows from experience that students need to follow their own paths. “We want to find their interests and skills. It’s not about shoehorning them all into one career,” Geraghty says. “For a lot of students, college is still the right path, but not every student should go right into college. Some should join the military, some should do a building trades program.”
For many students, the highlight of Success Club is a summative, multiday trip in late spring. For example, in Atlanta a few years ago, they visited Spelman and Morehouse colleges, met with CNN journalists, toured Ebenezer Baptist Church, and sat down to talk with leaders of the civil rights movement.
Opening the doors
Canton is not a wealthy place, and Geraghty works hard to get individual and business donations, plus grants to keep the per-family cost at about $200 a year. His goal now is to broaden the reach of Success Club: “I’ve been talking to the superintendent about equity in workforce development. We don’t want this to be an exclusive club—we want every student to have these opportunities.”
“For me, success is about showing up every day, ready to go with the skills you need and the attitude you need,” he says.
—MARY ELLEN FLANNERY
